Ways Not to Die
by Qweb
Summary: Odd little story that's really tags/missing scenes from a movie I haven't seen yet, "Captain America: Civil War." Possible spoilers for the Civil War comics series, the movie trailers and other previews. Written out of the fear that they might kill Steve, so these are ways for Steve Rogers not to die. Get your popcorn and don't leave the theater until the end credits are finished.
1. Disintegrated

_A/N: This is an odd little idea, tags/missing scenes from a movie I haven't seen yet, "Captain America: Civil War." Bits are based on what I know about the comics, the movie trailers and the movie cast list._

 _The original idea was born before the "Civil War" movie was even announced, back when Winter Soldier came out. There was a lot of talk about how Chris Evan's contract would run out before Sebastian Stan's and how the movies had now introduced two characters — Sam and Bucky — who have been Cap in the comics. And — Spoiler! — I read Steve gets killed in the Civil War comics (though, in true comics fashion, he doesn't stay dead.)_

 _Pretty sure you all know I'm a Cap girl. I feel for Steve who's had such a rotten deal all his life, so I don't want Steve to die. Even if Chris wants to move on and someone else needs to play Cap, I don't want Steve to die! So I began thinking of alternates. Have faith because, no matter what it looks like, these are ways for Steve not to die._

 _You have to see these scenes as part of a larger movie (or series of movies). Try to imagine seeing this on the big screen, and don't leave the theater before the end credits are done._

* * *

 **Disintegrated**

Under orders from the government, Stark's Avengers, the authorized team, pursued Captain America's rebellious crew but with less than total enthusiasm. Their primary goal was to capture Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, who was wanted for blowing up the United Nations.

Cap insisted that Bucky had been framed by an impostor and refused to turn his friend over. That led to a warrant for Steve's arrest, too, which split the Avengers team. Vision chose his creator's side, but could not bring himself to fight the other Avengers. He stayed at headquarters to coordinate the search as only a computer mind could do.

Rhodey stood by his oldest friend and Natasha reluctantly sided with Tony. She hoped superhero registration would prevent another Sokovia, but she was sad to be opposing both her partners. The mysterious Black Panther offered his help to Stark as well. He had been at the U.N. when it was attacked and had seen the masked, silver-armed bomber for himself.

Sam and Clint sided with Cap for more personal reasons. Clint refused to register and expose his family, and he didn't believe Bucky was responsible for his acts while brainwashed. Sam believed in Cap and knew Bucky was innocent of the U.N. bombing. He did not believe the former Winter Soldier would get a fair trial with the current backlash against enhanced people. Wanda chose Cap's side simply because she could never choose Stark's.

The battle between the Avengers was carefully orchestrated by their enemies. Believing they could find evidence of Bucky's innocence, Cap's team was lured to a box canyon of sorts, where four- and five-story industrial buildings lined a street that dead-ended at the foot of a towering cliff.

Iron Man's team was given the information about Cap's location.

But the men who had arranged the whole frame-up had already dispatched their assassin, their pseudo-Winter Soldier, to destroy the Avengers — all the Avengers. He had plenty of time to prepare the killing ground before Cap's team showed up and Tony's pursued.

Waiting with limited patience, the sniper rubbed his gloved hand over his weapon lovingly. It was a perfect Avengers killing rifle, Hydra made, fully charged with Terreract energy. With the Tesseract gone, it couldn't be recharged, but it would last long enough.

The assassin scowled at the battle below. He was supposed to wait until the two teams of Avengers had decimated each other, then pick off the remainder. But the fools were still trying to talk each other down. The battle was more like sparring than combat. The sniper found it highly annoying.

As the assassin's patience reached the breaking point, one of the architects of his suffering moved into range. Disobeying his instructions, the man shifted his weapon to follow.

* * *

Iron Man and Captain America were dueling, playing a high speed version of dodgeball, but the others had all unwittingly moved around the corner into the kill zone.

Living up to his code name, Hawkeye spotted the glint of sunlight on metal from the roof above. The sliver of light shifted in a pattern Clint recognized, as a rifle barrel turned in Natasha's direction.

"Down!" he yelled, and tackled Natasha, a move she hadn't been expecting because it was suicidal. It put Clint's head within striking distance of her elbow, which could easily have been a killing blow.

Natasha struck by reflex, but even reflex couldn't force her to kill her longtime partner. The blow only knocked Clint unconscious.

When thought caught up to instinct, Natasha had a split second to wonder why he had made such a foolish move, then half the car beside her vanished with a whump of imploding air.

For a frozen moment, Natasha beheld the interior of a bisected car, crucifix dangling from the real view mirror, loose change spilling out of a severed center console. Then she grabbed Clint and rolled the two of them over and over behind the next car as the first whumped out of existence entirely. She desperately kept rolling, hauling Clint's unconscious form with her, as cars vanished in bursts of angry red light. She saw they would fetch up against a fire hydrant in a moment, exposed to this terrifying weapon. She might be able to escape, but she couldn't leave Clint behind.

The rattle of gunfire interrupted her thoughts. With a scream like his namesake, Falcon swooped down on the rooftop sniper, a semiautomatic tearing divots from the building.

But the sniper had a perfect nest, a little concrete doghouse with an opening just big enough to shoot from. Sam couldn't even see the man inside, so he aimed at the entrance, trying to disable a hand or send a lucky ricochet in the opening.

But it was a tiny target at his speed. The sniper was a cool one. Sinking deeper into his hole until Sam came back for a second pass. He fired as Sam jinked to one side.

Natasha saw the blast this time, a beam of red that just touched the sip of Sam's wing. It flared like a balloon, then popped, biting a neat circle out of the wing.

Falcon pinwheeled toward the ground, out of control.

War Machine roared out of the sun to catch his opponent and his friend. He had to slow to match velocities with Sam, which let the sniper get a bead on him. The weird red beam snapped out as War Machine began to turn and it snipped Rhodey's left leg off.

He fell with a scream, going into shock as Friday tried to stabilize the armor with just one boot jet. The flying Avengers tumbled toward their death, but a scarlet cushion rose up and surrounded them, lowering them safely to the ground beside Natasha and the unconscious Clint. Wanda stood over all her friends protectively, hands raised.

A red blast from the roof struck her scarlet wall and was absorbed.

"Rhodey!" Tony's hoarse call preceded his arrival beside his oldest friend.

"The armor is acting like a tourniquet," Natasha said calmly, as she checked the three injured men. "But he needs a hospital now!"

Iron Man looked uncertainly at the two other victims. "You can't carry us all," Sam groaned, clutching a broken arm. "Rhodey needs help the most. Jet, man. Fast as you can!"

"I'll be back," Tony vowed.

Iron Man scooped his friend into his arms and shot out from behind Wanda's protective wall faster than the sniper could track, especially when bullets began to hit the wall in front of him.

Cap! Get back!" Natasha shouted. Cap and Iron Man had been battling around the corner, out of sight, until Tony heard Rhodey's scream over the comms. Cap naturally chased after Iron Man, but he didn't know what he was running into. Noneof his teammates had been able to warn him. Clint was out, Sam was down and Wanda was straining to protect them all.

Natasha caught her breath as the wicked red beam flashed toward Cap, and melted into that beautiful vibranium shield!

The Black Panther, who had been about to pounce on the Scarlet Witch from behind, instead took cover next to his teammate, the Black Widow.

"The sniper has a metal arm," the sharp-eyed hero growled. "It's the Winter Soldier."

"No," Scarlet Witch and Falcon said in unison.

Sam tapped his earpiece. "Barnes is climbing that building's far wall," he said, nodding at the building next to the sniper's perch. "He's going to come up behind the sniper, if we can buy him time."

Wanda couldn't see Panther's face, but she sensed his skepticism. "We said Winter Soldier was being framed," she pointed out, never taking her focus off her life-saving wall.

The sniper snapped his shots back and forth between Cap's vibranium shield and Wanda's energy shield. Cap moved forward cautiously, keeping his protection up.

The sniper turned his attention to Wanda, snapping shot after shot at the Avengers huddled behind Scarlet Witch. Orange red splashed across scarlet, making Wanda's energy field stutter.

She gritted her teeth, falling to her knees, but keeping her hands up and her focus on the protective barrier.

Gunfire pitted the edge of the roof, making the sniper duck back and taking some of the pressure off Wanda. Steve had claimed Sam's dropped weapon, but the angle was too steep for him to shoot into the sniper's nest.

The sniper recovered and aimed at Cap's feet.

"Can you use a bow?" Natasha asked Panther. "I know how to shoot, but I can't draw Hawkeye's bow."

"The spear is the traditional weapon of my people," Black Panther answered. "But I have experience with bows and arrows. But this is unlike any I've seen."

The Hydra weapon took a hunk out of the pavement. Cap rolled to safety, but he couldn't get to the others.

The sniper lined up a shot. But an explosion shook the wall below his perch. Black Panther stood behind Wanda, bow raised, a second explosive arrow arching over the energy field.

It blew a hunk out of the wall to the sniper's left.

"I wish I hadn't hit Clint so hard," Black Widow commented, as she prepared another arrow.

* * *

A red and gold blur shot down the street, inches from the building fronts, out of view of the sniper. When the vengeful Iron Man reached the sniper's building, he shot straight up.

"See how you like a face full of repulsors," he growled.

But the false Winter Soldier had carefully prepared the ground. He'd booby-trapped the wall below his perch. The shaped charge blasted Iron Man out of the air. He crashed to the ground on his back, momentarily stunned.

The Hydra rifle swung in his direction.

"Tony!" Steve yelled and threw his shield.

Iron Man caught it and the vibranium absorbed the blast.

But quick as a cat, the rifle turned on Cap. Steve dodged for cover. The first blast blew a hole in the pavement. Steve vaulted the crater and a second red beam struck him in mid-air. Steve was gone in a blinding flare of light.

Delayed by dismantling booby-traps, Bucky Barnes reached the roof just in time to see the destruction of his childhood friend.

"No!"

His metal arm ripped the concrete roof off the sniper's bunker. He grabbed the false Winter Soldier by the throat.

There was a crunch of shattering bones and the man was dead before Bucky threw him five stories to the ground. The body lay in a crumpled heap at Iron Man's feet, but Tony's eyes had never left the spot where Steve had vanished.

"Z'it over?" Clint mumbled, trying to sit up.

"It's over," Natasha said, her voice choked with grief.

Clint's gaze scanned the crowd, counting noses. "Where's War Machine and Cap?" he asked.

"Rhodey's hurt, but Cap … Steve's gone, Clint. He's gone."

As she helped her friend up, Natasha quickly explained about the red disintegrating light and recapped the battle action. Clint was shocked, because he'd missed it all.

Natasha went to the body and pulled off the mask. The man seemed vaguely familiar, but it took her a long moment to recognize the burned, scarred face.

"Rumlow!"

Sam and Clint stepped forward. "Rumlow," they confirmed.

"So this was Hydra again?" Sam asked.

Natasha just shook her head. She didn't have any answers … yet.

While the others limped to Tony's side, Bucky scrambled down the front of the building where the blast had cleared all booby-traps. But when he reached the ground, Bucky stood helplessly. There was no dead friend to mourn, no body to gather in his arms. Steve was just … gone.

Visor up, Iron Man staggered to his feet and reached for the shield with tears in his eyes.

"No!" Bucky shouted angrily. He shoved Tony to the ground and snatched up the shield himself. He held it close, rubbing his human hand comfortingly across the star.

"It doesn't belong to you!" Bucky shouted.

There were tears in the Soldier's eyes. "We believed in each other when no one else did, two ragged boys from Brooklyn. He believed in me still after I almost killed him. After 70 years of assassinations, he still trusted me. You say you were his friends," he yelled at the Avengers indiscriminately. "But you never believed in him. You killed him, you Judas!" he spat at Tony.

He started walking away, his gait uneven, as if he could hardly see through his tears, then he began to run, cradling the shield in his arms like a baby.

The Black Panther started after him, but Natasha held out her hand to stop him.

"Our orders were to catch the bomber," she reminded her team. She pointed down at Rumlow's body with the false metal arm and the Winter Soldier mask. "Our job is done. Brock Rumlow was the bomber. Brock Rumlow was the Winter Soldier."

One by one, the others nodded agreement. Tony Stark wept into his armored hands.

* * *

"Mr. Stark, do you have some words for the public now that the right side won?" Several microphones were shoved into Tony's face. He turned on the reporters with barely restrained violence.

"Steve Rogers is dead. There's nothing 'right' about this. Nothing at all." He stalked away, hunching his shoulders against the downpour. Behind him, the rain ran down the faces of the cemetery statues, as if all the angels were weeping.

.

.

.

.

 **First end credit scene**

Natasha was packing Cap's extra uniform into a box. She folded the uniform neatly, running gentle fingers over the star on the chest piece, before adding the rest of the gear. As she was about to put the lid on, alarms began to sound. She spun on her heel and ran out the door.

Across the room, the window exploded inward and a silhouetted figure climbed in and went to the box. A black-gloved hand splayed across Cap's star, then the lid went on the box and the man picked it up and turned to go. The dim light offered just a glimpse of a silvery arm and red, white and blue shield on his back as he slipped out the window.

A message on the screen reads: "Captain America will return in Avengers: Infinity Wars, Part 1."

.

.

.

.

 **Second end credit scene**

Steve Rogers' eyes snapped open and he sprang to his feet, crashing against an unseen wall. As he staggered back, he realized he's in a tube, like an exhibit in a lab.

An odd looking white-haired man stood before him. "Ah, Terra's only Super Soldier awakens. Such a unique exhibit you will make," the being said theatrically. "Welcome, captain. Welcome to the home of Taneleer Tivan, the Collector!"

While Steve is still gaping in confused disbelief, a voice behind him spoke in German-accented English.

"So, we meet again, captain, after all this time."

Steve spun around and saw, in another cage, the leering scarlet visage of the Red Skull.

The scene fades and a message reads: "Steve Rogers will return in Guardians of the Galaxy 2."

.

.

.

.

 **Bonus scene from Guardians of the Galaxy 2**

On Knowhere, Peter Quill prowled through the Collector's collection.

A voice said, "You look like you might be from Earth."

Quill looked around, but he'd passed the junction where the speaker noticed him. All he could see were distorted images of someone humanoid rising to his feet. "I was born on Terra," Quill confirmed, as he backtracked to where he can see the speaker. When he spotted the man, his jaw dropped. "You look like you might be Captain America!"

"I am Captain America," Steve confirmed. He was standing in a clear tube, just another exhibit in Taneleer Tivan's collection.

"How'd you get here?" Quill asked, flabbergasted to see the idol of his childhood locked in a space zoo.

"Apparently, I was kidnapped," Steve answered dryly. "How'd you get here?"

"Ditto," Quill said. "Have you been here since the 1940s?"

"No, 2016. It's a long story with aliens and battles and these things called Infinity Stones," Steve said with a sigh.

"Really? Me, too," Quill replied, perking up at the mention of Infinity Stones. He glanced down the aisle where Gamora was negotiating with the Collector, then he sat on the floor, settling himself against another exhibit case. "Gamora drives a hard bargain, so we have plenty of time. I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours."

* * *

 _A/N: And the rest is up to the movies or your imagination. Next week, a different variation on this theme._

 _Oh, and according to Fanficiton, this is my 100th story posted. Yay,_ _me!_


	2. Distraction

_A/N: This is a bonus scene for Chapter 1 that didn't fit in the "movie plus end credits" format. I do have two more alternate endings for "Civil War" still to come, but I thought it made sense to run this right after Chapter 1. This explains the alarm that sent Natasha racing out of Steve's room._

* * *

 **Distraction**

Natasha Romanoff was packing Cap's extra uniform into a box. She folded the uniform neatly, running gentle fingers over the star on the chest piece, before adding the rest of the gear. As she was about to put the lid on, alarms began to sound. She spun on her heel and ran out the door.

* * *

She ran toward the disturbance, gun in hand. The fierce look on her face promised mayhem for anyone who interrupted her sacred obligation to her dead friend.

"Let me in, you SOBs!"

Natasha relaxed slightly when she recognized the angry shouting.

Sam Wilson was cut and bruised and had his left arm in a dark blue sling, but he was still trying to get past two armed guards in the lobby of the Avengers training facility. Sam was determined, but he wasn't as swift or as agile as usual.

The guards weren't trying to hurt him, but one accidentally bumped his broken arm. Sam hissed and flinched away.

"Stand down!" Natasha ordered sharply. "Leave him alone!"

The guards backed off willingly. No one in his right mind crossed the Black Widow when she used that tone.

As she checked over Sam, Tony Stark emerged from his workshop. The bags under his eyes were as dark as his unkempt, greasy hair.

A vengeful part of Sam was meanly glad to see Cap's persecutor so distraught, but the better part of Sam was sorry. Tony had been nice to him, had made him a new set of wings even before Sam became an Avenger. Tony was a hero and a friend, but Cap had been like a brother to Sam — the second brother he'd lost in combat.

"What are you doing here, Wilson? Don't you know we could have you arrested?" Tony's tone was more weary than threatening.

"For what?" Sam challenged. "In case you didn't notice, my wings were trashed. Without them, I'm just a plain, vanilla human." The black man's lips quirked with a hint of his usual good humor. "Well, chocolate human," he amended.

"Why have you come, Sam?" Natasha asked, though she had a good idea.

"I left some personal things here. I want my stuff back," Sam said forcefully.

"You couldn't just ask?" Tony inquired. "You had to make a fuss?"

"Excuse me for being cranky," Sam retorted. "My best friend's funeral service was today and I wasn't permitted to pay my respects."

Tony winced.

"I'll take care of this," Natasha suggested, before the quarrel could go further.

Tony waved her ahead and turned back to his workshop, leaving a waft of expensive scotch in his wake.

"He drinking a lot?" Sam asked quietly.

"Not as much as I feared," Natasha said. "He's kept himself busy designing a new leg for Rhodes."

"How is Rhodey?"

"Racing around the halls in a hotrod wheelchair Tony made for him," Natasha answered. "He's with the doctors now, or I'm sure he'd be here giving you hell."

"Tell him I asked about him and wished him luck," Sam requested.

"Of course. I already packed your things," she said, changing the subject. "I'll bring them out."

Still a military man at heart, Sam didn't have much in his room at the Avengers training facility. Most of the stuff in his quarters was supplied by the Avengers. So he was a little surprised when Natasha returned with a full-sized duffle bag stuffed to bursting.

He knelt on the floor and unzipped the duffle bag. The first thing he saw was a photo of him and Steve laughing together, a photo that he'd last seen sitting on a shelf in Steve's quarters.

"I took a couple of things from Steve's room that I thought he'd want you to have," Natasha said quietly.

Sam was speechless, but not because of Steve's photo. Behind it was a Stark security camera photo of Pietro Maximoff smiling at his sister in Avengers Tower. It was one of the few pictures Wanda had of her deceased twin. Beneath that was a filmy red dress that Wanda had worn to a party.

Sam realized that Natasha had put Wanda's most precious things in his bag. They both knew the enhanced woman risked arrest if she came to the Avengers facility.

Sam finally pushed words past the lump in his throat.

"Thanks, Natasha. I'll take good care of these," he promised, for the benefit of the waiting guards.

"Good luck, Wilson," Natasha said sincerely — after all, the two of them had been through a lot together.

"You, too, Romanoff."

* * *

Natasha sent a guard to carry the injured man's bag to his car, then she watched Sam drive away. She stood there for a long time after he was out of sight. Finally, she steeled herself to return to packing up Steve's room. When she did, she found the window broken and the uniform gone.

There was no trace of the intruder, but Natasha only knew one ghost who might want Captain America's uniform to go with his shield. Only one ghost who might be able to get Sam Wilson to act as a distraction for him. Maybe she should have called out the troops, but she just smiled to realize that Steve's friends weren't alone.

Then she deliberately smashed a mirror and another window with a chair, letting everyone think she took out her grief and frustration on defenseless furniture.

She sat on the bed and put her face in her hands. She was surprised to find how easily real tears came.

The guards hesitated to confront her, but Rhodey wheeled in and pulled up next to her.

"What's going on, Natasha?" he asked kindly.

"I couldn't stand to look at myself any more," she said. It was her cover story for all the broken glass, but it was also true.

"I miss them, Rhodey," she said sadly. "I miss all of them."

Rhodey put a comforting hand on her bent shoulder. "So do I."


	3. The Captain is Dead

_A/N: There's not as big a fight scene for this one as the last. I'll leave it to the movie and your imagination. This one has_ _goest stars, so it's probably least likely of my possibilities._

* * *

 **The Captain is Dead**

The opposing teams of Avengers began fighting each other, but united forces when they were attacked by a small paramilitary army with heavy weapons.

Ironically, Iron Man and the Winter Soldier ended up fighting back-to-back. Captain America saw an RPG aimed at his two friends.

With a shout of warning, he launched his shield. It deflected the rocket into an enemy tank, ricocheted off a building and flew back toward Cap, while Tony and Bucky turned in unison and blasted the RPG squad.

But before the shield could return to Steve's hand, a beam of yellow light shot out, as if a hidden sniper had been waiting for Cap to be exposed. The beam struck Cap and he doubled over. His shield hit him, knocking him on the ground. He lay writhing in the street, half covered by the shield.

Bucky and Tony went berserk. Bucky stood over his friend, catching and deflecting grenades and bullets. Iron Man tore through the remaining troops, who suddenly seemed confused. Their leader, the sniper, had vanished with Steve's fall.

The Avengers redoubled efforts began to make inroads on the troops and then SHIELD swept in. Not a helicarrier this time, but two smaller agile ships related to quinjets strafed the enemy troops.

A tank toppled to the side as one set of treads seemed to melt. Another bucked and flipped as the ground heaved beneath it, as if it was in a highly localized earthquake. Ground troops poured out of trucks, firing bullets and icer rounds.

The SHIELD agents surrounded and contained the remaining enemy troops, allowing the Avengers to gather by their fallen leader. Bucky and Tony knelt on either side of the captain.

Steve's skin was bulging and sinking as if his body was boiling within. Light flashed from his pores at random intervals.

"Buck," he gasped. "Buck, I want you to take the shield."

"Steve!" Bucky's voice broke with grief.

"I believe in you," Steve said.

He cried out and curled up, pulling his shield over him to protect his friends one last time.

Light blazed from beneath the shield, forcing everyone to shade his eyes. And then the light was snuffed out.

Bucky reached a trembling hand to tip the shield aside.

"Steve!" he cried in anguish.

"Oh my god," Tony groaned. "What have we done?"

* * *

Conflicts set aside, the Avengers gathered to commemorate their fallen leader.

As the memorial service drew to a close, they stepped to the bier. Tony and Bucky took the front corners of the coffin. Sam and Clint carried the tail. Natasha and Wanda were centered on the sides, making sure the gleaming shield didn't slide off the black-draped empty coffin.

Solemn drumbeats echoed through the cathedral, as the Avengers lifted the coffin and carried it out the door to its final resting place.

* * *

"Is it strange?" one dead man asked another.

Steve Rogers turned away from the television coverage of Captain America's memorial service.

"What? Watching my own funeral?" he asked. "After I woke up, I watched the newsreel of the first one. At least this time, my friends are only mourning Cap. They know that Steve Rogers is still alive, though much diminished."

Phil Coulson rubbed his chin.

"That is unusual," he admitted. "But I was talking about …" He raised his hand high, palm parallel to the ground, then lowered it to the level of his own head, which was being kind, since Steve Rogers was three inches shorter than the SHIELD director.

A grin tweaked Steve's lips.

"I was only this …" He raised his hand high. "… for six or seven years. I was this …" he gestured down his slight frame. "… for 30 years. This is kinda familiar." He thought for a moment. "But I feel healthier than I ever did before."

"Oh, you are," Phil agreed fervently. "Those six, seven years of good food and regular exercise have benefited your body in ways that the anti-vita-ray couldn't touch."

"Really? Is that what you're calling it?" Steve asked, amused.

Phil shrugged and continued his explanation. "Your heart and lungs are stronger and your back muscles give your curved spine more support and more flexibility. Plus we have medications to help the asthma and other issues, so you should be healthier than you were in the 1930s. You certainly look stronger."

He certainly did. 2016 Steve Rogers was short and skinny, but he had reasonable muscles and a healthy skin tone. He didn't have the pale, caved-in look that 1930s Steve had suffered from.

And new Steve still had his handsome face.

"I feel pretty good," Steve said. "But I miss the colors."

"Sorry, still no cure for color blindness," Phil apologized.

"I'll get used to it again," Steve said in resignation. "It's back to pencil sketches and ink washes for me."

"Are you going to concentrate on your art, then?"

"Thinking about it. Haven't decided yet. I'd better go before everyone gets back," Steve said.

He meant, "before the media follows the Avengers back." He'd said his goodbyes before the service, ensuring real tears in the Avengers eyes.

With one last glance at the TV, Steve saw Bucky reverently lift the shield from the coffin and fasten it to his blue-clad back. A white star glinted on his chest as he turned away.

"Captain America is dead, long live Captain America," Steve murmured in satisfaction. He knew his friend would carry on his "legacy."

He shook Phil's hand and started out the door. "Time to get to know Steve Rogers."

Moments later, Bruce Banner walked in wearing a lab coat and carrying a tablet. He looked disappointed to see Phil alone.

"He's gone?"

Phil nodded.

Bruce had come back when he heard about Captain America's death. He'd been delighted to find Steve alive, though smaller. As one of the foremost experts on the Super Soldier serum, he'd been recruited to run medical tests. Most had shown no sign of the serum.

"I was hoping to catch him," Bruce said. "I have news. There are still traces of the serum in Steve's bone marrow."

"You think it will replicate?"

"I think it has to. That's what it was meant to do."

"Are you sure?"

"Ninety percent sure."

"So, bone marrow, to blood, to muscles and bone?" Phil asked.

"And then Cap is back," Bruce agreed. "But this will be a slower, gradual change without the Vita Rays. It might take years. I wanted to prepare Steve, because he might not notice at first."

"He'll notice," Phil said. "Eventually, he'll notice."

Bruce looked at him curiously.

"He'll notice when the color comes back," Phil said.


	4. Orange is the New Red, White and Blue

_A/N: This idea came to me after seeing Ant-Man (obviously). It's based on the comics where Steve surrendered himself to prevent further bloodshed. Instead of getting killed, as happened in the comics, in this story he's tried and convicted and sent to prison._

* * *

 **Orange is the New Red, White and Blue**

Wearing a prison orange jumpsuit, Steve Rogers sat patiently on the bench of the doubly armored van. The man known as Captain America was manacled with huge fetters. His feet and hands were shackled together and to the floor of the van with massive chains.

The chain connecting his hands and feet was deliberately short, so the former hero would have to shuffle along bent over. The hunched position turned out to be a benefit. It allowed him to see the ants crawling through the open door, tugging a piece of paper across the floor of the van.

The note read: "Are you sure?"

Steve smiled and aimed his gaze at the ant that looked slightly misshapen because of a miniscule camera on his head.

"I'm sure," Steve said quietly. "Thanks, pal, but stay out of it. Stay safe."

In response, the ants deftly flipped the paper to show another message. Steve frowned, puzzled, but dutifully memorized the brief instructions.

The sound of booted feet echoed on concrete outside the van.

"Scatter!" Steve hissed.

The ants swarmed the paper, chewed it to illegible bits, then scattered to the dark corners.

Five of the biggest, burliest prison guards available crowded around the door.

Belligerent, fearful, stoic, apologetic, angry — their faces held a wide range of expressions.

"I surrendered voluntarily," Steve reminded them. "I won't cause any trouble."

"You bet you won't," growled the angry guard.

The prisoner was unfastened from the van. It was tricky to climb out of the van with all the shackles, so Steve jumped down, landing lightly despite his load of chains. He faced his captors.

The sudden movement alarmed the frightened guard, who swung his baton, but the apologetic guard blocked it.

"None of that!" he said angrily. "He's a hero!"

"He's a criminal," the belligerent guard argued.

"Not the first time a man has been both," said the stoic guard, who was thinking of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

"Right," said the senior guard, the apologetic one, who was thinking of Jesus — which would have embarrassed Cap. "Show respect, gentlemen," he ordered. "Cap." He gestured and Steve shuffled in, glancing at the sign that read, "San Quentin."

"Funny you ended up here," the belligerent guard sneered. "Guess they wanted you far away from your super friends in New York."

"That's what the judge said," Steve agreed, though he privately wondered if Wanda had been doing some subtle mind tinkering to get him sent to Scott Lang's former residence.

* * *

Steve was processed in, then escorted to the warden's office.

"Are you going to cause trouble?" the man asked bluntly.

"It's not my intention," Steve answered, just as bluntly. "I will defend myself, but I promise I won't try to escape, if that's what you're worried about."

"I'll take Captain America's word for it," the warden said. He called for Steve to be unshackled and taken to a cell.

"No special treatment," he ordered the guards. "And no special treatment," he added, with a strict look at the belligerent and angry guards. He meant "no extra privileges, but no harassment, either." Everyone nodded understanding.

* * *

Steve hardly had time to make the bunk in his cell when the inmates were called out to the exercise yard. He took a deep breath. Now was the moment of truth. Now he had to fit in or fight — or both.

The rumor mill had ground out the news that Captain America was coming to San Quentin. When Steve stepped into the yard, all eyes went to him.

Several big guys of different gangs jostled each other to confront him, threatening to start a brawl over who was going to fight the superhero.

Steve broke the tension by saying, "I'm looking for Peaches."

One enforcer nodded. Three glared, but stepped back, as a complex treaty system came into play.

Steve followed a muscular Hispanic to a mixed race group gathered around a powerful looking black man.

"I'm Peaches," he said.

"I have a message for you from Scott Lang," Steve said.

Several of the gang members looked intrigued, hearing the familiar name.

"Go ahead," Peaches said.

Steve punched Peaches in the jaw, carefully judging his strength to give the gang leader no more than a cut lip.

A couple of men lurched forward, but Peaches waved them back. He wiped a smear of blood from his lip.

"You must trust Lang a lot to deliver a message like that," Peaches said thoughtfully.

"He's a friend," Steve agreed.

Peaches lunged forward and gathered the tense hero into a bear hug. "Any friend of Scott's is a friend of ours."

Steve relaxed. "Thanks, I didn't look forward to fighting everyone who wanted to try his luck against a superhero," Steve said.

"You're with us now. No one will bother you," Peaches promised.

* * *

 **Two years later, in Infinity War I:**

Steve was amusing the crowd, lifting weights in the exercise yard. Not only did the bar contain maximum weight on both sides, but a heavy man was hanging on each end. And still Steve lifted the bar with an easy, steady rhythm.

General Glenn Talbot marched arrogantly into the prison yard, backed by a full troop of Special Forces, fully armed and armored.

"Steve Rogers!" Talbot barked.

Steve set the bar aside and stood to face Talbot. His gang lined up behind him and the rest of the prisoners arrayed themselves facing the troops. Talbot was taken aback when he saw clean cut Captain America wearing a scruffy beard with a tattoo of a fanged Chitari space whale curling around his neck and down his bare back.

"Talbot," Steve greeted the general, as he pulled on a T-shirt.

"You're coming with us," Talbot said gruffly.

"Why?" asked a skinny white guy who took a position on Steve's left, while Peaches stepped up to Steve's right.

"What business is it of yours?" Talbot sneered.

"He's my lawyer," Steve answered.

"Ralph Bennigan. Harvard law. Correspondence course," the jailhouse lawyer said.

Steve, Peaches and Bennigan all crossed their arms, waiting.

"He wants you to fight aliens again," said a voice familiar to Steve. Tony Stark leaned casually against the wall by the entrance.

"Stay out of this, Stark," Talbot barked, but Tony just smirked.

"What does my client get out of this?" Bennigan asked.

"A chance to serve his country and save the world," Talbot said patriotically.

Bennigan and Stark both snorted, then shared a grin. "Not good enough," Bennigan said. "My client wants a full pardon, before he goes anywhere. What do you think he is?" the lawyer asked passionately. "A guard dog to be sicced on a thief and then chained in the junkyard again. He's not going anywhere without a signed piece of paper."

Talbot started to bluster, but Stark interrupted.

"I told you he was patriotic, not stupid," Tony told Talbot, then he said directly to Steve, "The president has already issued your pardon. It's just waiting for your signature."

Steve met Tony's eyes and nodded. "Give me a minute to say goodbye."

"Come on, troops," Tony said cheerfully, leading the way back into the building.

The warden scowled until Talbot and his men followed. The rest of the inmates filed away, leaving Steve with his gang mates.

"Are you sure you can trust Stark?" Bennigan asked. "He betrayed you once."

"No. Tony and I were on opposite sides, but he didn't betray me. Besides, if aliens are coming, Captain America needs to fight," Steve said.

Peaches nodded. "Then make sure you get the papers signed first," he said practically. "And make sure we don't see you back here again."

"No promises," Steve said with a grin. "I'm a rebel, haven't you heard?"

Peaches snorted, then, without warning, slugged Steve in the face. Steve allowed his head to rock back and bit his lip to let a trickle of blood flow. Peaches studied him, then shook his head. "You're such a faker," he said, and gave Steve a bearhug.

* * *

With the papers duly signed and Talbot shooed away by Tony, the two Avengers left the prison together.

"Nice ink," Tony commented. "I didn't think a tattoo would take on you."

"They don't. This is just ballpoint pen. Little Mickey liked to practice."

Tony laughed. "You seemed like you fit in OK," he said.

"There are some similarities to being in the army, but on the whole I prefer the army. In the army, you get furloughs," Steve said. "What's going on, Tony? Aliens again?"

"Well, just one alien."

"One! You need me to fight one alien?"

"One alien who has four of the Infinity Stones," Tony answered. "And he's coming for the Mind Stone."

"Four Infinity Stones?" Steve said grimly. "We're gonna need a bigger team."

* * *

 _A/N: And that's the end of this series of alternate endings to "Captain America: Civil War."_


End file.
